


Mark speaks

by demurely1



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Canon Related, F/M, Resolution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-18 01:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3550217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demurely1/pseuds/demurely1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This scene was missing from series 2 episode 8 and explains how Mark dealt with Beth's ultimatum.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mark speaks

**Author's Note:**

> _I don’t need you. I can do without you. If you’re gonna stay, sort yourself out, tell me everything or piss off._

Mark still winced as the echoes of Beth’s words from days ago ripped through his soul. At the time he’d just pleaded: “ _Don’t talk to me like that_ _!_ ” – just like his inner voice had screamed to so many of her angry outbursts of late. Then he’d avoided any further argument by walking away from her; leaving her to drive the couple of remaining miles home alone, while he took a detour to the pub.

He’d understood why she was angry.  In fact he’d foreseen it, even tried to persuade her not to attend court that day. He had had to take the witness stand knowing that Joe’s defence team would be trying to vilify him; even suggest he might be responsible for Danny’s death. It meant he needed to tell the truth; the whole truth; including all the stuff he’d not dared to even think about since that fateful night; stuff about his _missing_ two hours. He’d not shared that with anyone: neither the police when they’d arrested him for obstruction – and certainly **not** with Beth.

Now it seemed Beth felt betrayed yet again by his fling with Becca, and even more furious about his admission that he’d considered leaving her because of it. All this was further compounded by the other revelations that had come to light. Mark had known she’d be aggrieved, but hadn’t expected quite the ultimatum.

Well, now the court proceedings were done. The jury’s verdict had come… and gone. The closer the outcome of the trial had come, the more Mark had realised it wasn’t going to bring the closure they had sought – it was just another episode in their own never-ending life sentence.

Not that it was all bad! Here he stood holding Lizzie in his hands, whispering and crooning sweet nothings to her; watching her reactions. He wrinkled his nose and smiled at her, watched her blink and gurgle in reply. He pulled her to him and settled her snuggly in his arm, his left hand encircling her feet, his thumb stroking absently. She stared up at him expectantly, flexing her fingers. It was now or never.

Mark straightened up, lifted his chin, cleared his throat and raised his voice: “ _Do you still want me to leave?_ ” He aimed his words at the back of Beth’s head, two paces ahead of him.

Beth stopped in her tracks. When she turned round, despite the determined set of her jaw, he could see the panic behind her eyes – the same panic he’d glimpsed when he’d first asked – just one day after the ultimatum. _Should I move out?_ _You said you didn’t need me._

That timeshe’d backed down about him leaving, but still took him to task. _“You need to decide if we matter enough for you to change,”_ was what she’d said.

 _“Do you still want me to leave?”_ The words hung in the air between them.

“ _Well, I’m not going to_ ,” he stated more calmly, not letting her reply. “ _I still love you, Beth. I love Chloe. I love Lizzie. And I love Danny._ ” All the time he kept his eyes on hers, boring into her soul. While his hands gently squeezed and stroked the baby in his arms. “ _I’m not walking away from you, or anyone else in this family._ ”

 _“I know I thought about it ….that night_ ,” he went on, almost choking on those last two words, re-visiting all the feelings he’d endured in the witness box. His eyes welled up again. The thought that he had been so close to where Danny had died, yet had neither known nor been able to do anything about it, would haunt him for the rest of his life. “ _But, by the time I came home, I’d already come to my senses_.” He looked wryly up at Beth again and half-shrugged, almost whispering: “ _I realised then I was being….stupid_. _And I’m sorry that you ever had to hear me talk about it.”_

“ _You say you want me to change._ _But I think I have already_ ,” he continued, more quickly, staring into her eyes. Her words from the hill-top car park still rankled with him. “ _I know I’m not perfect, but I have been talking more. I wanted to go to counselling with you, but you wouldn’t. I’ve gone along with talking to Paul, when you’ve wanted to. I’ve tried to be here and help you with everything._

“ _Maybe, I haven’t told you I love you enough, but I’ve shown it every day, haven’t I? I’ve accepted whatever you’ve said or done without question – even when it’s been hurtful.”_ He stopped momentarily to take in her unfathomable, wide-eyed expression. _“I just hoped you’d eventually lose your anger about some of these things – and start showing your love for them again. And you have, haven’t you?_

“ _I don’t know why I never mentioned about getting into the cells to speak to Joe that day we found out_ ,” he spoke really softly now, holding her gaze. “ _It was just something that happened to me._ _It never seemed important - except to me. I don’t think we talked about any of it that day – we were all in shock_.”  Mark stopped speaking, caught up in his memories of that awful afternoon.

His words stung her. She knew he was right. She could barely remember anything of that day other than the visit from DI Hardy – and then, later, spotting Ellie out on the field. She gulped in shame now, at how she’d spoken to her, treated her.

Since then and throughout the pregnancy, Mark had been totally supportive, without smothering her or nagging her. They had talked more, and spent more time together. And since Lizzie’s birth he’d been brilliant - taking over all or any of the childcare, whenever it was needed. Beth had conveniently not mentioned the value of his support to the health visitor, yet she felt he took a huge amount of pressure off her, along with Chloe. She’d lost count already of the times he just whisked Lizzie away from her when she was fractious, often soothing her and getting her to sleep just with his touch and his voice. She’d even found him flat out, snoring on the sofa on a couple of mornings, his hand clamping a snoozing Lizzie to his chest. Nothing was a problem.

 _“I’ve been walking on eggshells for months,”_ he went on. _“All I’ve done is worry about you – you’ve been so angry with folk at times …… especially with Ellie. Then I bumped into Tom in town one day and realised he had no-one, so I had to help him. I’d hope someone would do the same if it were Danny…..”_ He looked up at her indignantly. _“I couldn’t tell you about meeting up with him – I thought you’d be too angry to think straight_.”

Suddenly Mark’s attention was drawn to the bundle in his arms. “ _Hey, you!”_ he laughed, hoisting Lizzie up to his face. “ _You can wriggle as much as you like, I’m not letting you go!_ ”

Beth watched as he chuckled at Lizzie’s reaction, kissed her on the nose and tucked her back into his arm again.

When he looked up, she was in front of him, reaching to stroke Lizzie’s hair. She smiled, then looked him sheepishly in the eye and wrinkled her nose.

Mark waited.

“ _I’ve not exactly been fair with you, have I?_ ” she whispered, reaching her other hand to stroke his face, and then his hair. Stretching up on tiptoe, she held his head and kissed him gently on the lips. “ _That’s got to be the longest speech you’ve ever made!_ ” she squeaked, as his right hand slipped around her waist and crushed her hips to his and his lips hard on hers.

Afterwards he chuckled down at her gasping for breath through the laughter. “ _You can wriggle as much as you like, Beth, I’m not letting you go!_ ”

**Author's Note:**

> 


End file.
